KorKai Thai Restaurant

KorKai Thai Restaurant offers an intriguing dining experience that sits somewhere between modern elegance and experimental design. Stepping inside, the blue porcelain floor tiles and matching soap dispensers in the restroom immediately evoke the vibrant charm of Porto, Portugal. The walls are adorned with an interesting collection of variously framed mirrors and artificial floral arrangements. Alongside the modern ceiling pendants, these elements might feel a touch discordant at first glance, but they ultimately contribute to a charmingly eclectic and fun atmosphere. The dining room is kept quite bright for an evening service, yet it hums with an energetic, welcoming vibe. Since the restaurant is BYOB, I brought along a cherished bottle of white Burgundy to accompany the meal. The culinary highlights of the evening were undoubtedly the appetizers. Dishes like the Roti Massaman and Papaya Salad were executed beautifully, offering complex, vibrant flavors that set a high standard. However, the main courses—such as the Seafood Drunken Noodles and Thai Basil Beef—featured sauces that were intensely seasoned and leaned heavily on the salty side. Unfortunately, these bold, aggressive flavors completely overpowered the delicate notes of my special wine, making it difficult to properly enjoy the pairing I had looked forward to. The mains absolutely demand a generous portion of steamed white rice to balance the palate. That being said, those robust flavors meant the dishes made for spectacular, deeply flavorful leftovers the following day for lunch. Despite the bustling weekend rush and a seamlessly endless stream of pickup orders, the staff remained genuinely friendly and attentive. For practical convenience, there is a paid public parking lot located directly in front, making logistics incredibly easy. I will certainly be returning, perhaps keeping the strong sauces in mind when selecting a wine, just to spend another evening enjoying their outstanding appetizer menu.

I ordered the special lunch menu at this restaurant and was very impressed. The staff said it was smaller than the regular menu, but I felt very full after eating. I will definitely be a regular customer of this restaurant. Very delicious.

The restaurant has a modern, clean ambiance, which set a nice tone for the meal. We started with appetizers, and they definitely set the bar high. The papaya salad came in the biggest portion we've ever seen, and the flavors were on point. The Tom Yum soup was amazing, though we realized we should’ve asked for it to be spicier to match our tastes. The curry puff was also really delicious and a standout dish. However, we were a bit disappointed with the main course. After the impressive appetizers, we had higher expectations, but the main dishes didn’t quite live up to them. It threw us off a bit, as we had such a great start. Overall, a mixed experience, but still worth checking out.

My friend & I dined for lunch on Thursday 1/15. We tried several different dishes & enjoyed everyone! The steamed dumplings, shrimp wraps, thai dumplings (which were beautiful & the server explained the history behind them). The best dish was the Roti Massaman, I'm sure this will be one of my top bites of 2026. The pad kee mao, tom yum soup & thai tea are also my favorites. I just love this place & can't wait to try the entire menu. The service is phenomenal, everyone is kind! This is some of the best thai in NJ.

We visited on a Thursday evening and it wasn’t very. Crowded and felt peaceful. Host lady was polite. Starters tasted good. We tried dumpling and Thai puff with curry. Both were good . The dumpling tasted a little different than the usual dumplings I had in other places. The drunken noodle we tasted was good . However I added tofu to the noodle dish and the tofu was tasting bitter , may be because it was deep fried in not so fresh oil. We will come again to try the other few dishes and share our experience .

My new favorite Thai spot. Everything is absolutely delicious and so flavorful! It's always fresh hot and delicious. Their specials are also amazing. Service is wonderful as well as the atmosphere. So many vegetarian friendly options their tofu is so tasty. I always try new things and haven't been disappointed yet.

We ordered Combo Chicken, Duck Pad Thai & Papaya Salad. The food was Good/ Not Bad, but it could be better. I like the Rice on the Combo Chicken. It's delicious [little dry but still good]. The soup that comes with it was good, too. The chicken is a little dry compared to KHAO MUN KAI in QUEENS NY, but for NJ, this spot is not bad. I wish they gave us the Cut Sliced Duck Meat on the Pad Thai instead of a whole Duck Thigh, Pad Thai also a little dry, but taste still not bad. Papaya salad was good & spicy 👍 Will return & try different dishes next time

This is a solid Thai restaurant! We’ve tried other places in the area and keep coming back to this one. Love the ambiance in the restaurant, it’s modern and warm and the service is outstanding. I especially like that this Thai restaurant had Drunken Noodles and it’s always well balanced with the garlic, spicy and tang. If you come here definitely order the noodles, eggrolls, the Thai Basil, any of the curries and Tom Yum soup. The dine in and take out are both consistently delicious.

Restaurant is super cute and food was delicious. I tried the chive pancakes and dumplings and they were both great. The drunken noodles were 10/10. Service was good, I would recommend.

The duck pad thai dish was the best pad thai I've ever had. Beautiful and spotlessly clean restaurant along with attentive service. The soup and Thai dumplings were delicious. If you desire tasty Thai, good service, nice atmosphere, and reasonable prices, go to Kor Kai in Montclair.

We were excited to try this restaurant since our immediate area doesn't have the best Thai food. The setup in the restaurant itself is pretty cute, it's not a huge space but certainly enough for a few groups and lots of 2 tops. For appetizers, we ordered their curry puff and papaya salad. For mains, I opted for the Duck Kee Mao (very interested to try their crispy duck) and Mama Ginger stir fry with beef. The curry puff had such a light flaky shell and the filling was very savory and delicious. They had a clear colored dipping sauce with some cut up celery and onions that complemented the puffs well. I love a good papaya salad but unfortunately there's was underwhelming for me. More specifically, the papaya was underripe so while it had the crunch and decent flavor, that alone ruined the salad for me. I enjoyed my duck kee mao. The duck was definitely very crispy and the flavors of the noodles and sauteed vegetables came together quite nicely. Their kee mao version had peppers and string beans instead of Chinese broccoli which is usually more common. The stir fry was done nicely as well. We especially appreciated that the beef was cooked the way hanger steak would be handled so it was long flat strips that were ever so slightly pink and still tender. Would definitely come back to try other menu items and was overall very happy with the meal. I'd just skip the papaya salad next time!

Great spot for authentic Thai food! I stopped in for lunch after my facial, located in the same plaza, and the first thing that caught my eye was the decor. It's absolutely stunning with the royal blue chairs and the modern clean aesthetic. The food did not disappoint. I ordered the Thai dumplings and drunken noodles. Both cooked to perfection. I really enjoyed the spice level on the drunk noodle. I also ordered a Thai iced tea which is not pictured because it was so delicious I drank it all within minutes.

Intimate diningroom with an attentive staff. Picking up comfort food for dinner consist of extra spicy drunken noodles with perfect spice level. Wings need sizing and seasoning. Veggie spring rolls were very salty.

Ordered: Lychee Ice Tea (~$6) Lychee Lemonade (~$6) Roti Massaman (~$12) Steamed Dumplings (~$10) Chicken Combo with Ginger Rice (~$20): steamed & crispy boneless chicken with ginger rice, soup and soybean & sweet chili for dipping Aya's take: Korkai is a super cute restaurant in Montclair offering some classic Thai dishes. I started off with the Lychee Ice Tea which was light, sweet, and nice to sip on. The Lychee Lemonade was more of a regular lemonade (I could barely taste the lychee) so I'd recommend the Lychee Ice Tea if you want more of a lychee flavor. We started with the Roti Massaman which creamy from the coconut milk, well-seasoned from the curry, and the roti was buttery and flaky. My only critique is there was barely any chicken in it and the curry was a bit watery making it hard to get a good bite with the roti. The Steamed Dumplings were solid but nothing to write home about. I really enjoyed the Chicken Combo with Ginger Rice. It came with the broth which was light and aromatic, the steamed chicken paired well with the soybean & sweet chili sauces, and the crispy boneless chicken was delicious with the right amount of batter! The ginger rice was light and fragrant. Overall, it was a great dish and the portion is on point for the price! I even had leftovers for the next day. Definitely recommend checking them out!

Pretty good food - a little different than most traditional Thai. Very cute inside with good lighting but the place smelled a bit of chemical cleaner. Service was good. It's a byob. Give it a try :)

The space is so pretty inside. The appetizers were pretty good, they were out of a few menu items. Loved the pad see ew and lychee lemonade.

2024.05.25: Finally had a chance to dine in. Interior is drastically different than the photos Jasmine N. posted, I know when we tried to order take out a few days ago, they were closed for renovations. Floor is the same, walls and lighting are much lighter and brighter. Came back late-ish by Montclair standards for an 8.30pm dinner. Wow. I thought this place was good when we ordered delivery, but I gotta say it's even better when you dine in. Service was quick and friendly, but we were only the third table at this time of night. Started with: - Thai Iced Tea. Better than I've had at other Thai spots in the area. Rich, creamy, and just damn delicious. - Crab Rangoon. Pretty sure they used real crab meat. At least, it didn't taste like the imitation stuff. My GF said, "I could eat five orders of these". Perfectly crispy wrappers encased a crab-forward crab-and-cheese filling. And the dipping sauce was - Grilled Beef Salad. Just the right amount of spice, the beef was tender and cooked perfectly. The sauce/dressing made the appetizer shine. Ratio of beef to lettuce to red onion to tomatoes was spot on. Only thing that could have made it better? Perhaps add some cucumber. For the mains: - Thai Basil Beef. Once again, beef was cooked to perfection. Mixed with onion, green beans, and served with a side of rice. Simply perfection. Next time I'll have to try this dish with shrimp. - Kai Zaap. Crispy chicken in a spicy lime dressing. Bring the heat! I'm no slouch when it comes to spicy but this wasn't your average "hot" compared to other places. It was actually moderately spicy. I even got a little sweaty under my eyeballs! Dessert: - Crème Brûlée Cheesecake. What a way to end a fantastic meal. Vanilla bean cheesecake with a crème brûlée topping and blueberries. Would definitely get again. We enjoyed this meal so much, we already made a reservation for Father's Day in mid-June.

This is a lovely restaurant. The decor is very classy and staff were friendly. I loved our dishes but they were way too spicy for me. I wish I could rate it as 4.5 stars because I really enjoyed the meal but our waiter said the dish wasn't too spicy and even my friend who tasted both dishes said they were very spicy. The flavors are amazingggg but I wasn't able to fully enjoy the meals because of the spice level. I will definitely come back to try other dishes when I build up my spice tolerance!

Tried the steamed chicken rice the first time and this next time tried the Thai Massaman Curry with chicken. Yumm and took rest home and added tofu for another meal. Love the decor and great service and wish them the best in this tucked away spot in Upper Montclair business district! Try it now!!

Amazing food and people! Try the scallion pancake and thai beef salad - so good~ Super fresh and tasty!

Service is excellent and good fantastic. Also the location is super convenient to Upper Montclair train station.

Stopped by Kor Kai (the New thai) for dinner! Food was excellent and super affordable! Thai tea is definitely gonna become a weekly staple for me. I've never had Thai like this before and the staff was super helpful with helping me pick something out, i ended up ordering the steamed chicken with rice( it's the perfect summery dish) the chicken is plentiful and so flavorful. My only regret is that I didn't order the chive pancake A welcome edition to the Montclair food scene

Delicious drunken noodles. Takeout is always quick, and the interior is nicely decorated.

Recently came across it as I searched on Yelp and decided to give it a shot for lunch on a weekday. It's new to the area and tucked away in a shopping strip. It's a small restaurant with a bright ambiance inside. Service is good. Ordered my Thai favorites - Drunken noodles and Red Curry with Chicken. Didn't disappoint at all. But I would request there to be less sweetness and more kick on the heat if you can handle it. Will definitely return !! Weekends will get busy so try it during the week.

My favorite food is Thai and I've longed for a Thai restaurant to be opened in the Montclair area that is great and not just good. I've been waiting over a decade. Finally my dream may have arrived. A friend casually mentioned that they had eaten at Korkai and it was very good. Taking a chance, I ordered two different curry dishes. WOW!!! Absolutely perfect. The flavor and sauce were over the top perfect. Great taste and so flavorful. It's only two dishes, but I'll be ordering again very soon to explore more.

Good food, friendly service, pleasant decor and great prices. This will become one of our regulars for the nights we just want a quick and easy dinner out.

The absolute best Thai in northern Jersey jersey. All the dishes are excellent. Favorites include the red curry and drunken noodles. Crab Rangoon is a great starter. All food is fresh and they are always consistent. Decor is chill, service is great.

Finally a great thai restaurant close to home- We had chicken pad thai, roti with curry app chicken wings, and yellow and green curry. All were excellent. This is my new go to thai restaurant!!

It's a quintessential little place in Upper Montclair, and it's easy to park. Duck Kee Mow was delicious, and I was definitely surprised with the duck--it was much, much better than anticipated. Thai Basil was very flavorful. Ideally, I'd go with 4 people and have 3 apps, and 3 entrees.

Food was pretty yummy. The chive pancakes and the dumplings were good. My issue with Korkai is the lighting. PLEASE turn down the lights. Dinner was like eating in a hospital--brighter than day. Cute decor but the over abundance of LED lighting did not make for moody, dinner ambience.

Lovely food and decor -- someone put a lot into the look of Korkai -- but the brightness of the lights overwhelmed us as if it was la cafeteria. You'd be better turning the lights down low for an excellent vibe...

Second time we visited Korkai. Had shrimp pad Thai & curry. Both were very flavorful; nice sized portions and reasonably priced to boot. Had duck salad and different appetizers also last time. The menu is not huge but offers enough variety. The restaurant is small but tables are well spaced. A really nice addition to the neighborhood and our new go to Thai restaurant

I have only done takeout this far, however, this food is absolutely spectacular. I think it's the best Thai food in Upper Monclair, bar none.

Very chill space. Service was attentive enough, without hovering. The food was fantastic. Had the chive pancake, tom kha and crispy chicken with ginger rice. Very fresh and tasty. We'll be back.

The food is great! Everyone was super happy with their meal. The service was fast and polite. I hope this place does well.